Growing Pains
by shounenai4life
Summary: Young love. Then loss. Pain. Zuko went through all of it. And now its possible to find the one he once loved, his only dream. Will he be reunited after years of seperation? Slash, slight fluff, slight angst.
1. Meetings

Au

Zuko/Oc, though there will be some appearances of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Jet, Toph and others.

First few chapters will be told in flashbacks.

* * *

It was a Sunday, as Zuko remembered, a Sunday when the game had started, that stupid, silly game that had gotten him to this wrenched state. If he had known, he would have never had started it, no matter how innocent and pleasurable it had seemed at the time. Well, he hadn't started it really. Not on his own. Hakagi had done something too, started it in some way. It was both of them. So they were both to blame for the fate that beheld them.

He took his head up from against the window, hoping that would stop the rattling that shook him to the bone. He gazed out of the tinted glass. No, no it was he that started it and that was his final decision. In truth he knew it was both of them, but he didn't want someone as innocent as Hakagi to take any blame for something so tragic, so in his mind, with brief finality, he decided it was he who'd started the game and it was he who was to be blamed for the upsetting turn of events.

It hadn't been a Sunday, now that he remembered correctly, it had been a Tuesday, because it was on Tuesday that he'd met Hakagi, and without Hakagi, he wouldn't have had inspiration or motivation to even start the game at all.

He'd been outside when he came...

* * *

Books were one of Zuko's favorite things. Apart from practicing his all too weak fire bending, reading was all he could do. Every day was lonely. He flipped another page, effulging himself in the magic of it all. The magic of going into a different world, wherever a story decided to take him, where there were pirates and princes and morals and genies and airplanes and all sorts of things he couldn't begin to fathom. In a book he wasn't alone, he imagined himself as one of characters and made friends with everyone else. And lately, he'd taken to writing his own stories.

It was lonely, because his mother had suddenly left, with reasons still uncertain to him, and Azula had gone of to boarding school for prestigious fire benders. He hadn't been admitted. His father had made it clear that he didn't want Zuko for company, and so the small 6 year old was glad that he had finally mastered the art of reading, thanks to his tutor and only friend, Kitomi Sensei.

He could hear the sounds of horses whinnying outside, followed by the sounds a cart would made when rolling over gravel, and looked out through the window from his secret tower. No one knew about it, and he didn't want anyone to ever. The palace was a big place, full of empty rooms and gruff guards. He was glad to have a place to call his own.

The cart door opened, but before it did he noticed the fire emblem of royalty imprinted on the back. Whoever was coming out, was someone of his prestige.

Zuko dropped his book in surprise when he saw a mere boy, small looking, bundled up in expensive looking sweaters even though it was summer.

'A snob.' Zuko immediately declared in his mind. 'The son of one of father's friends, it must be.'

He quickly lost interest, returning to his window seat, where he took his time to read the kanji symbols that were written beside the picture of his book.

"Zuko!" the all too well-known voice of his father called. Zuko jumped up quickly from his seat, dropping the book and running down the winding staircase to his room. "Yes father?" he answered, once he had shut the door. His father would not have approved of him reading more than it was necessary.

"Come here. I'm just down the hall." His father said. Zuko trembled. 'It must be something very important for father to call me himself.' He thought opening the door. 'Ever since mother left, father has seemed very upset.' He didn't know why.

He walked down the hall, lined with pictures of great kings, counts and lords, all gleaming with oil and tanned. Zuko thought them beautiful, and terrible.

His father was standing in the middle of the hall, his hands on the shoulders of the very boy who Zuko had seen outside. He was even smaller without his coats, a tiny things with wide, curious looking icy intelligent blue eyes and the reddest lips Zuko had ever seen. He immediately envied his skin color, a glorious tanned tone, something Zuko had been wanting for so long, but never could seem to get. His hair was still hidden under a cap, but some bits of it poked out. They were jet black and curiously, streaked with blond.

"Yes father?" he said meekly, hating the fact that he had to get to his knees and kiss the ground in front of the lord, and when he stood he couldn't look directly into his fathers eyes. He hated that he had to do it in front of the boy, who's thick lashed eyes widened in surprise to see Zuko acting in such a manner.

'If he's royalty then he should know its custom. Why does he look like he's never seen it before?' Zuko thought uneasily.

He father was beaming. "Zuko, this is Hakagi. His father has very recently become the fire lord of the South and has moved into the royal courts."

"South?" Zuko questioned, glancing up briefly before lowering his head.

"Yes. It's like, a second in command, for when I'm off to war and to take care of smaller things. His father has taken great pains to get to this point and I hope you welcome them both into this house hold."

"Hai." Zuko whispered in agreement, placing one hand over his fist and bending his head slightly, as he'd been taught to do. He looked into the boy's eyes with sullen disregard, catching and holding his gaze to let him know he could stare at him for however long he liked. The boy gave a shy smile. Zuko sneered and looked away.

"We have many things to discuss, Fire Lord Akito and I." Lord Ozai continued, looking sternly at Zuko. "So take him with you and play with him. You two can practice your fire bending together, under supervision of course. Enjoy."

He let go of Hakagi's shoulders. "He's powerful Zuko. I've seen him. Try to…catch up hmm?" he smiled at Hakagi.

Zuko decided he hated the boy, someone who'd managed to squeeze approval out of his father already, something he had yet to do.

"Hai." He said again. Then he looked at the boy, squinting to try and look menacing. "Come." He said, in a gruff voice, striding away, hoping the tiny boy would get lost and end up on the other side of the palace, crying. 'He looks about the same age as me. But I'm taller and he seems like a china doll.'

Hakagi was keeping up with him. Zuko walked past his room, to the play room.

"Don't touch this." He said, pointing to a crate stuffed with toys. "Or this." He said pointing to another. "You can play with those over there. I don't want them anymore."

"Thank you." The boy whispered, sounding truly grateful that zuko would befall him with discarded play things.

"I bet you don't have as many toys. You don't, do you?"

"No. I don't." the boy agreed, looking curiously at a box of puzzle pieces.

"I have more. Because I'm better." Zuko felt the need to say this, to remind himself that he was the boss of something.

Hakagi opened the box and sat on the carpeted floor, beginning to put the puzzle together. Whenever one of his fathers friends came over with their children, the kid would boast to Zuko about what they had, and Zuko had never been able to compare.

He was richer, his father more powerful, but when challenged to a fire bending competition, he would be disgraced. So he decided he would start the competition first, and get the upper hand.

He strode over to where Hakagi was comfortably lying on the ground. "My dad is better than your dad. He's more important. You heard what he said. Your dad is _second_ in command, behind my dad. He had to come live with us."

Hakagi didn't say anything, only stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth in concentration. "He is isn't he?" Zuko continued, wanting to start competing. 'I bet I could beat him at mahjong.'

He waited for the boy to deny it, jump up in anger and yell at him. But he only looked up and smiled. "Yes, he is."

Zuko blinked. "He…yeah." He said, caught off-guard.

"And so I'm better than you right?" he said shakily.

A small frown etched across Hagagi's face. His delicate features looked hurt. "No." he said softly. "No you're not."

Zuko grinned victoriously. "Oh yeah?" he said, ready to start fighting. "Oh yeah? Well then let's see about that. Let's have a competition to prove it! What do you want to do first?"

"Do you have a garden? I would like to see some flowers."

Zuko looked confused. "What about our competition?" he said.

"I want to see flowers." Hakagi smiled. "Why compete over who's better? It's trivial you see. Wouldn't you rather gaze at something as beautiful and innocent as flowers. Why think of war or hate or anger, when there are so many beautiful things?"

Zuko was shaken. He'd never heard anyone speak this way before. His father said that competition and war were the only way to get what you want. _'Just win them all and you'll be fine.' _He'd said. Hakagi continued smiling.

Slowly, Zuko smiled back. "We have a garden in the back." He said. "You want to see?"

Hakagi nodded. Then, to Zuko's surprise, he took his hand. Zuko looked at it. "I don't think…" he said, then change his mind.

He lead Hakagi out the back door to where the garden was. The boy smiled. "Thank you." He said, turning to Zuko, once again using the voice of someone who'd just been given something that would save their life. "My mother loved flowers as well. When father went out we sat at the cottage and she'd take me outside into our tiny garden and rock me there as a baby." Hakagi continued reverently, sitting amongst the mass of foliage, in his royal suiting's and all.

"Where is she?" Zuko asked, afraid of the answer.

"Died." Hakagi touched one of the flowers, a rose. "Died in the prime of her youth, life nipped in the bud like a flower nipped by frost bite."

"I'm…umm…sorry." Zuko said, scratching the back of his head.

"You're like a rose." Hakagi said, picking a fallen one up off the ground. He stood, gracefully, and walked up to Zuko, taking the flower and rolling it across Zuko's cheek. Zuko blushed crimson, pushing Hakagi's hand away. "I'm not a flower!" he yelled. "They're weak and fragile."

"No." Hakagi said, breathing out as if he'd been carrying a burden and was finally laying it on the ground. "No. You're just like a rose in fact. You appear weak and fragile and scared, compared to a tree, but when there's a hurricane, it is the tree that is uprooted and the flower that is spared."

Zuko tried rolling his eyes, but he stopped when he realized how true Hakagi was. 'He's smart.'

Hakagi continued smelling the flowers individually, and though Zuko found is upturned nose and his overall face fascinating, he was growing bored. "Let's fire bend." He said excitedly.

"Alright." Hakagi smiled. He removed his hat and Zuko found himself enraptured with the hair on his head. Never had he seen so many colors managing to look so beautiful. Blond and black, brown and some glints of red shone in the silky mass of hair. 'He's lucky.'

Hakagi took his stance and put his fists together, then stepped foreward and pushed out a burst of flame. Without pausing, he jumped into the air and shot out another, then landed, spread his hands, released fire from his finger tips and spun, letting it out in spurts. The entire time he did it he had a devastatingly serious look on his face.

He picked up his hat. "Your turn." He smiled. Zuko's mouth hung low. Not even Azula had been able to do so much. He felt ashamed and embarrased. "S-sure." He said, taking his stance.

The flame that emitted itself from his fist was like a flickering light going out. "It's…its cold out." He mumbled, rubbing his hands together. "I guess I need some time to warm up."

Hakagi nodded in agreement. Zuko took his stance again, them pumped his fists foreward, hoping for a blast of flame. There was a little puff, and then no more.

Hakagi didn't smile or smirk, even as Zuko lowered his head. Instead Zuko felt the other boy's body come behind him and hold him by the elbows. "Make sure they're even." He whispered into Zuko's ear, his hot breath causing a tingling sensation. "It will help balance your chakra."

Zuko nodded, feeling hot as Hakagi pulled his arms back for him, still behind him. "Now let go." He whispered. Zuko did, surprised to see an almost ok flame emit itself. Nothing as good as Hakagi's, but much better than his usual. Hakagi let go and he still was on fire.

"Great." Hakagi said. Zuko smiled. Then Hakagi kissed his cheek and he blushed, once again surprised. 'He did it. H made me warm up all over. That's why I did so well.' Zuko thought. Somewhere behind his resentment, an adoration for the other boy had evoked itself in his heart. One that would last forever.


	2. Origin of change

Some more background information of Zuko and his childhood sweetheart before the story starts. This chapter takes you through his first couple years of life, from 7 to 11. Enjoy.

* * *

From the day of their meeting the boys had been inseparable. Zuko didn't remember a day he didn't see Hakagi, even though the palace was so large that could have easily been possible. They always met, in the garden, in Zuko's room, in Hakagi's room, it didn't really matter to them. Every time they saw each other, whether they'd just seen each other or it had been the day before, Hakagi would run up to Zuko and hug him. At first Zuko would find it strange but after a while it seemed like the most natural thing to do, being clung to by the smaller boy.

When they were seven, Zuko's martial arts practice was intensified, so that he could catch up with Hakagi, who was 2 kata's above him. He was out on the terrace, practicing for all he was worth, not being able to get the moves, feeling dull and worthless.

His father had been out to see him earlier, and he had not been pleased. 'Zuko, you might as well have been born in a water tribe with moves like that.' He had said coldly. Zuko was supposed to be learning the spurts of fire move, the one he'd been so dazzled by the year before when Hakagi had done it. He pumped his fists for the 40th time that day, stepped forward, jumped, landed…and fell.

This time he didn't get up. 'I can't do it. Something's wrong with me.' He decided, curling into a ball on the cold floor. He remembered the look that had been on his fathers face and began crying. 'He hates me.'

"Zuko?" Hakagi said softly, walking towards him. "I've been looking for you all over."

Zuko felt humiliated. Couldn't he have just a moment to fall apart? Hakagi noticed immediately that his cheeks were wet when he looked up. "Oh…I was…taking a nap." Zuko said unconvincingly. Hakagi hugged him, smiling.

"Why were you crying?" he asked. Zuko looked at him and he burst into tears again. "I c-cant d-do the spurts of f-f-fire!" he wailed. Hakagi looked bewildered.

"Yes you can." He said. "You're really good."

"I can't!" Zuko said stamping his foot. He felt angry all of a sudden, that Hakagi was better. "I can't! So leave me alone."

He turned his face to the ground and Hakagi turned it back, kissing Zuko's damp cheeks. Zuko looked at him with red eyes. "I can't." he whispered.

"You're my best friend." Hakagi said seriously. "You knew that right?"

"Well…I didn't know what we were exactly." Said Zuko. His cheeks were dry now, because where Hakagi had kissed had become hot and evaporated the wetness.

"Well I don't know what I am to you." Hakagi said. "But you're my best friend. I love you and cherish you very much."

Somewhere inside his seven year old mind, Zuko knew that this was not the way that most boys acted, that this was far more girly and intimate than it was supposed to be. But they were alone now, so he guessed he would let it slide. "You're my best friend too." he smiled, still slightly embarrassed, but like the tears on his cheeks, that was evaporating too. Hakagi made him feel comfortable about himself.

"Here, I'll teach it to you." Hakagi smiled. Zuko smiled back. 'Best friends…

He showed Hakagi his secret room right before he turned eight, and Hakagi had become just as enthralled with it as Zuko was.

They'd sat by the window and read to each other for hours on end. Sometimes they had acted out the parts of the characters. "You be the princess." Zuko said forcefully. "You look more like a girl."

"You look like a girl." Hakagi said. He stroked along Zuko's jaw line. "You have a feminine face. It's delicate. Soft."

"Shut up." Zuko snapped, slapping Hakagi's hand away. He wondered why the boy did such strange things, touched him in ways that just didn't seem natural. There had been a few times when he felt the urge to do it as well, to touch him, maybe hug him back. It just didn't feel…normal.

"It's true. Get over it. I'm not being the girl."

"Well," Zuko said thoughtfully, running his hand along the windowsill. "Let's both be boy's."

"There needs to be a princess in Cinderella." Hakagi said, arching an eyebrow.

"Let's make it be a prince. That way, we can both still be boys." Zuko said, crossing his arms. "Ok."

They didn't know, at their innocent age, how strange it was for two boys to be standing at an alter, whether real or made up.

Zuko was glad for the next royal function that he had to be at, that Hakagi was at it too. They'd stood in the corner of the room, snickering and making fun of the girls in pompous dresses and make-up, all flirting scandalously with their fathers.

"I'm never getting married." Zuko whispered. Over the three years that they had known each other and gotten closer, he'd felt some of Hakagi's personality rubbing off on him. He'd become more quiet, more thoughtful, more sensitive, while Hakagi had become more mischievous and less docile. He still had the constant urge to blurt out his thoughts though, before thinking them through.

For some reason, he'd half hoped that Hakagi would've vicariously agreed with him, but he only continued staring at the crowd. "Are you?" he said after a while, wanting to know. "I suppose. My father often speaks about it." Hakagi said.

Zuko tried imagining Hakagi as a father. He couldn't. "Well I'm never." He said, standing firm with his decision.

Hakagi looked at him, then reached over and brushed back some of his hair that was sticking out.

"Let's go out on the patio." He said.

"I know you dislike the indoors." Zuko smiled.

"Don't tell anyone. It isn't _painfully _obvious is it?" Hakagi teased.

"I promise." Zuko grinned, catching the sarcasm.

They walked outside, and Hakagi immediately took off the stuffy robe he'd been given to wear and threw the expensive garment on the ground. Zuko listened to the strains of music coming from inside and began rocking to it. Hakagi noticed. "May I have your hand madam?" Hakagi asked cortiously, bowing as he'd been taught.

"Oh my." Zuko said in a jokingly bashful voice. The two boy's took hands and danced across the pavement, Zuko laughing like crazy. Hakagi pulled him closer. "You've grown. You're nearly as tall as me."

"I'm nearly nine. What do you suppose it will be like?" Hakagi whispered.

"Close to ten. Then you'll be a pre-teen. That's so close to 13 and soon you'll be getting married." Zuko teased, feeling light-headed. He put it on Hakagi's shoulder.

"I'm serious." The blue-eyed boy sounded worried.

"The same. You'll discover new things, learn more, especially in our fire bending." Zuko mumbled, reaching up and playing with some loose strands of his friend's hair. The music stopped, and so did they, and Zuko finally realized how close they had been. He was glad it was dark. 'He has the ability to get me to go so close to him without me even knowing. He's almost…enchanting.'

Their first day of sexual education had been in the reproduction topic, when they were both 10. They had never been exposed to it before, hadn't even known that girls had different genitals from them. Zuko listened, enchanted as Kitomi sensei spoke about how babies really came into the world. He had Hakagi had thought it through many times, and they both had ended up deciding that when two people were married they got a baby, sometimes two, and if the first one was older than the second, then the second one had gotten lost in the mail somewhere and had finally come. It was so logical.

But apparently, it wasn't so. Zuko had found a book, buried behind others in the library shelves, thick as about five of his own books that talked about 'a wave of heated passion effulging the two lovers until they lost control of their mind and body, and soon their bodies weren't two, but one, tangled in a web created by their love.'

This is what they had been talking about. "So, can two men have sex too?" Hakagi suddenly asked. Zuko picked his head up off the table. How could he say the word so freely? Didn't he feel embarrassed knowing he was talking about something so…dirty. Zuko wasn't stupid. He knew it wasn't as clean cut as Sensei was making it out to be. He'd read that book, and now that he knew what it was talking about, he knew what went with the actual doing of the act. There were sounds and shaking and touching before it started, and kissing and fondling of places not meant to be tampered with. It seemed all vey private.

Kitomi's eyes widened slightly, though he tried to hide it. "Well, I suppose prince Hakagi. "It's not…widely practiced though." Kitomi was a small man, short and slender with a slightly receding hairline and spectacles. He looked severely shaken at the question, but then again, it didn't take much to shake him.

"Can they have babies?" asked Hakagi.

"No. Two men…their body's weren't made to join in such a way. A sperm and and egg must combine. Two men is perverse."

"Then why do they do it?"

"For...pleasure." Kitomi said, feeling nervous. He didn't want to lie to the children, he'd been told not to hide anything from them. "They're future Lords." he'd been told. "They have no time to be shielded from the world." But a topic such as homosexuality seemed too advanced. He changed the topic. Hakagi didn't object, only rocked his chair backwards and looked thoughtful. Zuko noticed how much older he was suddenly looking, less like a child. Something about that evoked worry in him, like Hakagi was leaving him behind even though he was only two months younger and still taller. He sat up straighter.

The real turning point had happened later that day, when the boys were laying by the lake, near the apple tree. They'd just come out of the water and were breathing heavily in the grass when Hakagi suddenly turned to Zuko and began running his hand over the other boys chest, his hand moving with the up and down movements.

On instinct, Zuko hit his hand away. "Stop." He gasped out, not having much breath to speak with. It had been their 10th race for the day and he was wiped out.

He began to close his eyes, the birds chirping above his head putting him to sleep. He felt the hand on his chest again. He sat up. "Hakagi!" he hissed to the half-naked boy, who gazed up at him with a half-innocent, half-mischievous look in his eye.

"Zuko?" he said back playfully.

"Stop doing that."

"What?"

"Touching me. You know what you're doing."

"Oh. Ok." Hakagi said, bringing his head off the ground and laying it on Zuko's stomach. Zuko didn't protest to that. He was used to being laid on by Hakagi, used to lying on him, used to feeling the soft curve of the gentle boy's forehead pressed into his shoulder when he cried for his mother, used to feeling hair tickle his neck when Hakagi's head was buried there as he seeked comfort. He was used to that sort of closeness.

Then the hand was sliding over his chest again, and he grabbed it, intertwining his fingers with the other boys. "What is wrong with you today?" he snapped. "You said you would stop."

"I didn't say when." Hakagi grinned.

"Why are you even doing that? Is there some gunk on your finger you're trying to wipe off on me?" Zuko questioned suspiciously.

"No."

"Then why?"

"I'm experimenting." Hakagi said, turning his face so he was looking at Zuko as he lay sprawled out on the grass.

"On?"

"What Kitomi Sensei said. About some parts of boys bodies being sensitive and reacting."

"To _girls_." Zuko huffed. Hakagi had been obsessing over that lesson for what reason he didn't know.

"I don't believe its just girls. Why would it be? Everyone has hands."

"Something in your hormones I guess." Zuko said, rolling over, holding Hakagi's head so it wouldn't fall off of him. "Just know nothing is sensitive about my body."

Hakagi fingered a lock of Zuko's hair. "You bet on it?"

Zuko held out his pinky. "Bet." He said tiredly, wanting Hakagi to drop the subject. Sometimes he wondered why he cherished the boy so much, why he put up with all his weird quirks. 'Why I even love him.'

Hakagi touched his chest again, lightly brushing his fingers over it. Zuko felt a shiver in his spine, but refused to say anything. 'If I don't make a sound then he wont know.'

Hakagi's hand moved higher. On its way to Zuko's neck, it accidentally brushed Zuko's nipple. Zuko let out a small grunt, his body shivering.

A grin spread over Hakagi's face. "Not sensitive hn?" he teased. Zuko blushed bright pink. "I bet I can find somewhere sensitive on you!" he yelled, outraged at what his body has done. Hakagi looked up at him with an air of despondence. Zuko straddled him. Just give me a minute. And so the game had started, that fateful Sunday afternoon, the game that would completely change their lives.

* * *

Did you like it? Tell me if you did!

Thanks so much for my one and only review:

OnexLostxSoul


	3. Lost

So this is the last flashback chapter. :) After this the story begins.

* * *

Soon, 'the game', as it had been so titled, was all the boys ever played. Tossing all their toys aside, pushing all books into a corner, they would find somewhere to go and play their game. Zuko didn't know why it enthralled him so much, being with Hakagi, having him touch him like that, but he it was almost addicting.

They were twelve when Hakagi got the urge to see Zuko when the sun came up. He slipped out of his bed, and stretched his suddenly sprouting limbs, not bothering to change. He pushed the huge mahogany doors open, remembering how hard it had been to do it 6 years ago. 'I was so small.'

He walked down the halls, taking him a full ten minutes to get from the east wing to the west, wishing his legs were longer. He opened Zuko's doors, smiling when he saw him, sleeping with his mouth half-open, breathing lightly from his diaphragm. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't known Zuko, hadn't been close to him. They'd been best friends from before he'd lost his milk teeth.

He walked up to the bed, and pulled back the covers. The front of Zuko's pajama pants looked slightly white. He didn't notice. "Zuko…" he whispered into the sleeping boy's ears. "You want to go out and practice? Remember that new move we learnt?"

Zuko didn't stir.

Hakagi breathed out of his nose impatiently, jumping unto the bed and straddling Zuko's waist. "Wake up." He whispered. He tilted his head to the side, noticing that Zuko had started sleeping without a shirt. He ran his fingertips over the curves and sinks that were beginning to form.

"Hn, Hakagi." Zuko suddenly murmured, wrapping his arms around his best friend's waist. Hakagi blushed. Apart from when he was sad, Zuko never got close to him, refrained from touching him. He remembered the one time that Zuko had kissed him, when he'd been crying, for what he couldn't remember, he'd cried a lot in his earlier years, but it had just happened as they stood in the orchard. It had been innocent; his first kiss on the lips, and Zuko had seemed bewildered and never done it again.

"Zuko, if you're awake don't play with me. You know how hormonal boy's are at this age." He teased. Zuko's grip was firm. "Fine. You can keep playing. But then I will too."

By now Zuko's eyes were fluttering open, and he was smiling. "Don't come near me in the morning Hakagi."

Hakagi stroked along his abdomen. "Too late." He murmured.

"You can keep going. You've touched me everywhere that's possible. I'm not sensitive to anything you do anymore." Zuko grinned, sticking out his tongue.

"Not everywhere."

Zuko's eyes widened and he let out and almost animalistic sound from deep within his throat. "How could you!" he gasped out.

"I win." Hakagi said simply, pulling his hand from out of Zuko's pants.

"How could you touch me there? That's my private part. Its _private!!_" Zuko shrieked.

"Fine." Hakagi pulled the drawstring on his pants and let them fall to the ground. Zuko's eyes widened. "I touched you and now you saw me."

Zuko reddened and looked somewhere else. "I'm just saying, that was off-limits. It's cheating."

"We didn't say anywhere was off-limits." Hakagi grumbled, pulling up his pants. "You're just a sore loser."

Zuko stared at him, wondering at his boldness. "You're not the boy that I remember." He said, in a strangled sort of voice. When since did Hakagi get so tall, so…lanky, his hair get so vibrant, his eyes so bright.

Hakagi frowned. "How do you mean?" he said, crawling unto the bed, and into Zuko's lap. "How? In a bad way? Am I bad?"

Zuko smiled. "Never mind. You haven't changed at all."

Hakagi looked relieved as he buried his face against Zuko's chest. He felt comfortable, and after a while he felt his eyes closing.

"Zuko!" he yelled in outrage when he felt the warmth of Zuko's hand in his pants, the taste of sweet revenge. "Zuko! We weren't even playing then!"

Zuko got up and ran, and he chased him, throwing things and screaming profanities he'd heard from men outside the palace walls. For even if he was a sweet and gentle soul, he was still after all a boy.

It was later when Zuko and Hakagi were playing hide and seek, feeling very childish for doing it but wanting to do it all the same. The thing with them and that game was that the palace and its grounds were almost as big as a town, so they always designated certain places to play. This round happened to be the orchard.

Zuko was beginning to get irritated. He'd looked behind every tree, in every bush and tool shed. He was tired. "Hakagi, you win, you can come out now."

He heard a thud behind him. Hakagi had just fell out of a tree and landed on the ground. Zuko looked up the one tree that he hadn't checked in. "How did you get up there?" he said, referring to the 20 foot tall tree which didn't have any branches to climb unto until about 6 feet high.

Hakagi smiled and then winced in pain, clutching his leg. Zuko could see the tears welling up in his eyes, see him trying to hide them, because, being twelve, he was supposed to be able to refrain from crying. But Hakagi had always been a sensitive soul.

Zuko sat on the ground and lent against the tree. 'Just this once.' He thought fondly, pulling Hakagi into his lap and putting his head on his shoulder, to save the boy from the embarrassment of being watched as he cried.

He could hear the muffled sobs and it almost made him smile thinking of the amount of times they'd ended up like this. He stroked Hakagi's hair, holding up a few silky strands to the sunlight. Red, brown, black and blonde shone at him in a magnificent lengthening rainbow. It blended so well and was so beautiful. He felt jealous. He could feel Hakagi's developing muscles through his shirt as well.

The chest pressed against his stopped rising and falling so hard and finally Hakagi looked up. "Nothing happened." Zuko smiled.

The smile was returned and Zuko realized how close their faces were. Suddenly, a mental image of Hakagi with his pants off like that morning flashed though his mind, except this time he was also shirtless and for some reason, standing under a waterfall and looking extremely seductive with his arms wrapped around himself. Zuko flinched.

Hakagi got off his lap, smiling and gently closing Zuko's hanging mouth. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." He said.

"Huh? Oh…huh?" Zuko said, trying to shake his head clear.

"Zuko!" Hakagi gasped. "Look at your pants!"

Zuko glanced down, and was surprised to see a massive tent in his pants.

"Wow." Hakagi said reverently. "What in the hell is that?"

He poked it, and Zuko winced in pain, slapping his hand away. "Don't touch. It hurts."

"Is that…an erection?" Hakagi whispered. "I've never seen one before. It's huge." His blue emeralds glinted with mischief. "Can I touch it?"

"No!" Zuko yelled, feeling embarrassed. "No way. It really hurts."

"Maybe I can help with that." Hakagi smiled, trying to speak in a husky voice. Zuko laughed. "I think you've read too many novels." He said, wishing Hakagi wouldn't come so close to him. It made him feel so hot.

"Well if I cant touch it…can I see it?" Hakagi asked curiously.

"What?"

"See. It." Hakagi repeated.

"What!"

"See your erection."

"Why?" Zuko blushed. "You got one too. Look at that"

"But it must be different when it's…you know, _hard."_ Hakagi grinned deviously.

"You're beginning to freak me out." Zuko teased. It had started to rain and they hadn't noticed.

"Ooh!" Hakagi said energetically. "This gives me a chance to use my new move. The ring of fire."

He brought both arms above his head, sticking his thumbs upwards, then brought one hand around in a small circle to meet the other, then flicked his thumb into the air. A small circle of fire, appeared there. He widened it.

"Oh yeah." Zuko tried to do the same thing , after all, they'd learnt the move at the same time. But he failed to do it, his fire went out, and his face fell. Hakagi smiled sympathetically, feeding his fire with one hand. "Here, come under mine." He whispered, holding Zuko by his waist and pulling him under. "You just need more practice. We only did it twice."

Zuko put his head on Hakagi's broadening shoulders, partly so he wouldn't get wet and partly for comfort. He glanced up at Hakagi's profile. The other boy had always been cute, but now he was sprouting out, not looking so small anymore, and the baby fat on his face was beginning to chisel out into something much more defined. 'He's going to be gorgeous in a few years.' Zuko thought, playing with some loose strands of Hakagi's hair that were beginning to grow down his back.

Hakagi tightened his grip on Zuko's waist and it felt good. The fire above their head's as they walked back felt hot, but to Zuko, every part of his body that was pressed against Hakagi felt so much hotter.

From inside, his father was watching.

* * *

"Yes father?" Zuko said, trying to make sure that his voice didn't shake. "You called for me?"

"Zuko, what would you say your relationship with Hakagi is?" His father said solemnly.

"We're best friends." Zuko said slowly, his brow furrowing. "Why?"

His father continued looking thoughtful. "How old are you now son?"

"12, going on 13."

"Good age."

"For what?"

"You've been with that boy for a while, playing around. I think it's time you started working towards your eventual role as Fire Lord. You're sister is coming home from boarding school soon. I can't wait to see what she has learnt."

"I will father." Zuko whispered softly. He was glad to be in the same room with his father, he rarely got to ever see him.

"That is all." His father said.

"Hai." Zuko bowed and left the room.

"What do you think Mitoshu?" Fire Lord Ozai said, turning the the man who'd been sitting in a chair at the back of the room.

"By all means. Send my sun away. I fear they are getting too close. Its an unhealthy practice for boys when they're supposed to be trained to be able to lose everything."

The Lord nodded.

* * *

"If you were a girl would you date me?" Zuko asked Hakagi, who was currently engraving 'Zuko nd Hakagi b.fs for life' into their favorite tree.

He shrugged. "I don't really know how girls think. I haven't seem one our age in over 7 years."

Zuko looked bothered. "I want some of your hair." He said suddenly. "For my scrapbook. So we can always remember each other."

Hakagi put the chisel he'd been holding on the ground.

"What's up with you all of a sudden? You in a hurry to grow up or something?" he asked curiously.

"No." Zuko whispered. "I just want to have something to remember you by for when we get separated."

"Separated? Why would you think that we would ever get separated?" Hakagi started chiseling again.

"Just in case." Zuko said quietly.

Hakagi sighed, and then pulled his ponytail over his shoulders. Zuko handed him the scissors he'd been carrying around and he cut of a bit. Zuko tied some ribbon around it. Then stuck it in his scrapbook. "Your hair is beautiful." He said, in a bout of sappiness.

"So's yours." Hakagi sounded distracted.

Zuko ruffled his hair self-consciously. "Nu-uh." He said. Hakagi walked close to him again. "What's bugging you?"

Zuko lost his breath. Since when had Hakagi gotten as tall as him?

"Nothing." He whispered, feeling as if he would break some sort of mood if he spoke any louder.

Then Hakagi kissed his lips and he dropped his book and scissors and Hakagi dropped his chisel. Zuko felt himself kissing back, felt something surging from deep within him. Hakagi had his arms around him and it was their first kiss without a reason.

Hakagi pulled back, out of breath, eyes still half closed. He flung his pony tail back over his shoulder and once again picked up his chisel before going back to work.

Zuko licked his lips, in a daze. "We'll always be best friends. I love you and I'm never going to leave you ok?" Hakagi said over his shoulder, as If it was a matter-of-fact thing.

Zuko felt stupid, but he ran up to Hakagi and hugged him from behind. 'He kissed me to prove his point.' He thought, his heart beating wildly in his chest. 'That's it. It was innocent, our bodies weren't even touching.'

Hakagi looked at his handiwork and Zuko smiled and hugged him tighter, wondering why he was being so emotional. His father had taken him out of his comfort zone. Hakagi, feeling bewildered, turned around and hugged Zuko back. "Always, always, _always_ best friends." He whispered, joining pinky's with Zuko.

Zuko nodded. 'Always.'

Then Hakagi kissed him again and he forgot everything.

Always didn't last for very long.

* * *

Thank you:

OnexLostxSoul (you're reviews are really motivational and its a good thing too because you're almost the only one reviewing. If it werent for you I'd be pretty discouraged, but they're long enough and as well put together as if it were 20 separate people, so its all good. Thanks a whole bunch of rtaking the time to give me such awesome reviews. When I see your name I know they're going to be good!)


	4. Gone

* * *

Zuko lay back against the chair, feeling restless, childish even, which was saying a lot for him. He hadn't felt like a child for a long time now…

He tugged at his sleeve wishing it didn't feel as if it were constricting him, and let out a sigh. His mind had been submerged in years of aching memories that he'd suppressed for so long, and the most painful one, the one that had given him nightmares and made him cry for years on end, was still concealed.

'When Hakagi left me…'

He could remember looking for him, not worried too much until after an hour, when he'd began asking around. 'Oh, he left this morning. His father sent him to boarding school.' Is what he'd been kindly informed. It had almost been as if Hakagi had died.

Zuko shook his head, not wanting to remember, not wanting to think of him as a child, drying and crying, and screaming and aching. He couldn't even think about Hakagi without hurting, not even after 4 years. he breathed in deeply. He needed to calm down.

'Now it's my turn.' He thought nervously. 'First Azula, then Hakagi, now I'm finally good enough to go to boarding school.'

Running his fingers though his hair slowly, to calm himself, he straightened his clothes, heart pounding. He'd never left his home for more than a week before. His father had even come out to see him off, proud that his son had finally made it, even if he was in the backend. No one would know.

It had been for the better, he'd decided, that they'd separated. It took him a while, but he finally realized how weird it had been for them to act like that to each other, how wrong. He blushed thinking of the ways they'd touched each other, in innocence. "Prince Zuko, you've arrived at your destination." His cart driver said, opening the door by its hand crafted golden handle.

Zuko stepped down lightly. He was still as fiery as he'd always been, still has hot-headed, but somehow, it was different. He seemed calmer, more graceful, more thoughtful, less…wild. He gazed up at the tall and ever-streching building that would be his home, the walkway leading up to it filled with trees. Before it, there was a courtyardpool ar off in the distance to the left, and slightly behind it he caught a glimpse of the training grounds. The grounds themselves were huge and lush. 'It does look prestigious.' He thought in awe, and after living in his own home, seeing another building that could put him in awe was a major feat.

A few new arrivals standing by the gate were gazing at Zuko the same way he was staring at the gate, partly because he was a prince and partly because his presence and his beauty took their breath away. Zuko glanced at the girls then blushed and glanced away. That was something else he would have to get used to, seeing girls. They giggled and whispered some more.

He was sure everyone could hear his heart beat as he gripped his suitcases and began walking up the long pathway on his own, legs trembling. The pathwayHe kept his head lowered, hoping the hood of his cloak and his wispy bangs would keep people from seeing him.

The doors were large and he had to use his shoulders to push them open. When he got inside he nearly stumbled form over-exertion. The floor was marble, and the hallway bustling with new students walking towards the welcoming floor. He followed them, feeling bewildered by the loud noises and crazy students, not all of which were Japanese. He could see children from all sorts of countries, with parents who had intermarried and passed on their skills, walking and speaking in languages he didn't understand.

He got to the welcoming floor, which took three flights of stairs to get to, then collected his rule book and schedule, and most importantly, his dorm key. "Thank you." He said breathlessly to the lady at the desk. She looked at him with surprise. "No…thank you." She said, sounding almost strangled. Zuko smiled and continued walking, feeling her eyes boring into his back. 'Strange.' He thought.

It wasn't just her either. As the students thinned out as they got to the dorms floor, Zuko noticed more and more people gazing him as he walked. 'Is it because I'm a prince?' he thought, bewildered. 'That's not supposed to be so much of a shock. Many people here come from royalty.'

He brushed his hair behind his ear and a few more heads turned to stare at him, as he walked along the now carpeted floors, past the recreational room filled with young students and down to the maze of hallways spread in all directions.

He looked at his card. "F." He said aloud, looking at the letter at the side of each corrider. There was A,B,C and D. he walked down further, to another recreational room, this time with older looking students. The corridors that lead off in four direction were labeled, E,F,G and H this time.

'Oh, its by age.' Zuko realized, remembering some sort of chart he'd seen at the front door. '12 to 15 and then 16 to 20.'

He remembered Azula's school had been specifically for girls. He wondered why his father hadn't sent him to the prestigious fire bending school for boys instead of the one both sexes. When it was just for boys or girls it started from the age of 8, but since the co-ed schools were more grueling, they started for older children. 'I bet he did this to make sure I wouldn't spend all my times with boys.' Zuko thought, finding the F corridor and walking down it. He stared at his card, trying to commit the number to his memory. '16, F16.' He thought, not seeing someone standing ahead of him.

He bounced into the person, his suitcases flying. He landed on the ground.

"Oh shit!" An animated voice said from above him. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been standing there."

A hand reached down to help him up and he took it, feeling dizzy. "Thank you." He whispered, blushing. The boy scrambled around, picking up his suitcases. "You must think I'm an asshole." He rambled. "But I'm really not."

He handed Zuko his suitcases and then smiled apologetically. Zuko gazed into the deep blue eyes assuredly. "Its fine." He said.

The boy grinned, holding out a tanned arm for Zuko to shake. "Hi, I'm Sokka by the way." He said quickly, ruffling his messy-looking brown hair. "I just came here and I'm kind of blown away by everything!"

"Zuko." Zuko whispered bashfully.

"Oh I know who you are." Sokka grinned. "Everyone know's you're here by now. I've been hearing whispers of how cute you are for a while now. I wanted a chance to see for myself."

"So why were you standing outside? Don't you have a room?" Zuko asked curiously. This boy was warm, and smiling, with a lean, muscular, yet slightly feminine looking body and short, spiky brown hair.

"Oh I do, I do!" Sokka said, shaking his head vigorously. "I lost my key coming up here though."

"What are you going to do?" Zuko asked in worry.

Sokka didn't look concerned. "I'll just wait for my room mate to arrive." He said. "When do they serve lunch here? I'm so damn hungry, I could eat a hog monkey."

Zuko's stomach dropped. "Room mate?" he whispered. "We have room mate's here?"

Sokka nodded. "Well you didn't think you were going to get one all to yourself did you?" he said. "And on top of that, they adjoin all the rooms too. Not like we're going to be spending much time in them anyways. We'll be so busy fire bending!"

He slammed his fists together and Zuko saw a little burst of flame emit itself from them. He could tell Sokka was powerful. "I hope they serve us a lot of food." Sokka continued, getting distracted.

Zuko began feeling nervous. "Hey, come with me! There's this guy I want you to meet. I just meet him and I already love him!" Sokka yelled suddenly. He ran down the hall and Zuko smiled in bemusement to see him stop at the next door. 'He sure is excitable.' He thought, following.

"Knock." Sokka yelled. A blurry eyed boy immediately opened the door. "I said I was going to sleep Sokka." He growled. "Jeez, I don't even know you and I can tell you're going to be a handful."

Zuko gazed at the tiny boy. He most defiantly had a feminine body and a curvy one at that. His pajama pants slid down his tiny waist and his shirt hung off his small frame. Sokka, who wasn't particularly tall, was about 3 inches taller than him.

"But Aang." Sokka whimpered, using his gorgeous eyes to his advantage. "I brought someone over. He's new and his name is Zuko. You know, prince Zuko!!"

"Hi." Aang said, looking at Zuko and pulling his thumb out of his mouth.

"You're so adorable." Zuko said softly, not realizing he'd said that aloud.

"T-thank…you?" Aang said, arching his eyebrow. "I don't get that from boys a lot…ever in fact."

Zuko blushed and stared at the ground. "It was supposed to be a thought." He mumbled.

"Well thank you for sharing it with me." Aang smiled accommodatingly.

Zuko melted again. Dropping his suitcases, he walked forward and drew Aang to him, pulling his by the waist and hugging his lithe body tightly. "So freaking cute!" he squealed, nuzzling Aang's neck. Aang looked bewildered when he was finished.

Zuko blushed harder, wondering what was wrong with him. Was it because he hadn't seen another boy his age in so long? Sokka pouted. "Me too." he said, holding his arms up to Zuko. "This is so gay but I will not be left out of the hugs."

Zuko smiled and hugged him too. Sokka felt warm and his body felt nothing like Aang's soft curves, but more defined, more flexible and it got Zuko's body excited in a way that hugging Aang hadn't.

Sokka grinned. "I think I needed that. This is my first time leaving home."

Aang rolled his eyes. "To get me back to my usual hyper state, you guys need to let me go back to sleep. I am, hopefully, a growing boy."

"Ok. Bye!" Sokka smiled.

Zuko found himself gazing at Sokka's body, his heart rate quickening. He had been cooped up by himself for a long time, and he never remembered having feelings like these in all his life. Pure lust overcame him. 'I haven't been getting out enough.' He thought, blood pumping to a very uncomfortable place. "Let's hug again." He whispered huskily, wrapping his arms around Sokka.

Sokka's eyes widened. "O-ok." He said, feeling Zuko's strong arms wrapping themselves around him. Zuko ran his arms up Sokka's side, biting his lip. He wanted a release so badly, his hand was itching to stroke Sokka. He pulled back, running his fingers through his hair. 'Oh man, I'm so horny.' He thought in worry, wanting to feel Sokka's muscular chest lying against his again.

"Hey, I'm going to go find my room ok?" he said, turning on shaky feet. 'I need a cold shower.'

He walked up the hall, and was glad to find his room right beside Aang's. He put his card on fire, and then ran it though the lock, the only way the door could open. Sokka grinned. "Thanks man." He said walking in, after pulling his suitcase from out the hall.

"For?" Zuko said in confusion.

Sokka looked up at him. "F16? That's my room number!"

Zuko felt faint. 'How am I going to handle having a body like that with me in the same room when I'm really horny for the first time in my life, haven't had any experience with a girl and am not used to being alone with a boy?'

Hakagi shot though his mind and he shook it clear. That had been before he'd gone though puberty, that had been when he'd just started. He needed to forget the past.

"Great." He said shakily. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Sokka nodded, flopping unto one of the two beds at the end of the room.

When Zuko came back, he didn't feel any calmer. His heart began hammering again._ Sokka was wearing nothing but his underwear…_

His breath caught. Sokka opened his half- lidded eyes. "Hope you don't mind. I was hot."

"You _are_ hot." Zuko whispered.

"Hn?" Sokka said, getting up and walking towards Zuko. Zuko stepped back, stumbling over his bag, his foot flying out and hooking Sokka's leg. Sokka feel forward and landed almost on top of Zuko, catching himself before he did.

Zuko couldn't stop breathing. Sokka's chest almost made him moan. It felt so good against him he had the urge to rip of that last piece of clothing that covered him.

"Are you ok?" Sokka asked. In answer Zuko brought up his hand and began absent-mindedly stroking Sokka's chest, his breathing erratic.

"You like experimenting with guys?" Sokka asked, his breath suddenly shallow. He couldn't believe how Zuko's touch was affecting him, but he couldn't deny that it was. He shut his eyes and let out a small moan. Zuko tried fighting himself down, but he couldn't stop himself from stroking Sokka's stomach, kissing his neck. He'd been bottling up his hormones for too long. It hadn't been healthy.

Sokka moaned again and he could hardly resist. Sokka's hands had already removed his sash and cloak and was busy taking off the traditional fire nation royalty shirt. "Hey, I don't think I swing this way." He rasped. "But a little experimenting can't hurt."

Zuko moaned sharply and flung his head back when Sokka's teeth and tongue grazed his nipple. He'd never experienced anything like it before. He felt light-headed but in the back of his mind he knew this was going to be one crazy school year.

* * *

Yeah, so a lot of potential drama coming up. Don't worry, Hakagi hasn't gone away!

I don't know how old Azula is to Zuko so I've decided to make her two years older.

Thank you:

OneXLostXSoul (thanks again for oyur wonderful reviews, they motivate me so much, and I love your stories. Your review was huge!)

Ruebroadway (thank you for reviewing! Its good to know someone is reading.)


	5. Found

Zuko looked over at Sokka shyly, gazed at his serious looking face as they walked towards the breakfast area. Sokka glanced at him and then smiled a little bit. "Aang said he'd be meeting us down there." He shrugged as they walked through the busy hallways. Zuko looked away, wondering why Sokka was acting so normally, especially after the way he'd practically ambushed him for a snogging the night before. 'Its like all my years of lack of physical contact just burst out.' He thought, wrapping his arms around himself, even though it was warm. He felt ashamed.

"So after breakfast we have to go down to the lecture hall and get some history notes for like two hours." Sokka was saying animatedly. "It's really boring but then we get to go out unto the training grounds so it isn't that bad. I can't wait!" Sokka pumped his fist into the air. "I hear everyone's really competitive here."

Zuko couldn't help smiling slightly. Sokka's vibrant personality was rubbing off on him like an infectious disease. Sokka breathed in deeply, his chest rising and falling. "There were a lot of good things that I read about this school." He said quietly, gazing at a group of boys as they walked past him. "But they didn't say anything about the view."

The golden-eyed boy looked at him with surprise. "Are you…I mean, I don't mean to be rude, but do you like…men?"

Sokka's eyes were wide when he turned to Zuko and Zuko almost felt stupid for asking. "Hey." He smiled, clasping his hands behind his slender neck. Zuko watched his sinfully pink tongue dart out of his mouth to lick his lips then slip back in. "Don't let last night give you any ideas. I'm just an open kind of guy. Up for anything you know? And you definitely seemed up for _that_."

Zuko nodded, lowering his head, wanting to say something, to apologize. Maybe he'd been in the dark the whole time, and being with another boy wasn't as disgusting as his father made it out to be, but he didn't think so. But Sokka was taking it so easily; he decided to drop it for the moment.

"Ooh, it's so big here!" Zuko exclaimed when they got to the dining hall. "And Zuko, there's so much food!!"

Zuko glanced at him again and his lips split into another smile. 'He's so cute.' He couldn't help thinking, feeling that Sokka was going to take a while to get used to.

"Wow." Sokka said as he joined the line. "You should smile more often. I mean, you hardly do it at all. Did you have a bad past or something?"

Zuko focused on picking up small amounts of food, and separating them while Sokka dumped large amounts of everything, mostly meat, unto his plate.

Zuko eyed his slender figure, wondering if he always ate that much, or if that was the first time. 'I wonder what his metabolism is.'

Sokka was balancing his plate in one hand as he tried to get more food. Zuko took it from him. "Hey, calm down." He said. "Why don't you come back after you're done if you're still hungry."

Sokka glanced behind him at the rapidly lengthening breakfast line. A pout formed on his face, and Zuko nearly kissed him again. "Fine." He said. "But you're coming with me if I come back."

Zuko nodded, handing him his plate.

'What are you doing?' he thought vehemently. 'You don't know him. So why are you getting so close to him all of a sudden?'

Zuko's smile faded as he mentally slapped himself. 'You just got here and you're already straying. You promised yourself that there would be no more room for hurt. Not if you didn't let anyone in.'

Sokka picked up a piece of bacon and bit into it. His tongue flitted out to curl around it, only this time he gazed straight at Zuko as he did it. "Go on, eat!" he grinned, picking up Zuko's spoon and peeling back the cover of Zuko's yogurt. Zuko felt the spoon slip in between his lips.

Sokka smiled at him. "I can't wait to find out all about you. I bet we're going to be really good friends."

Zuko ate the spoonful, then blushed furiously as Sokka licked of the remains. 'Either he's seriously flirting with me or he's as innocent as hell.'

The shining blue eyes that were gazing into his made him think the latter.

"Hi." Aang said, smiling as he came over to their table.

"Oh. Hello." Zuko said quietly, glad there was someone else there break the tension between him and Sokka.

His head hurt. The sudden burst into society was proving to be a lot for him, and he didn't think that he was going to be able to make it though the rest of the day.

Aang bit down on his toast. "So, what have you guys been doing?"

"Eating." Sokka said happily. "Ooh! Is that chocolate yogurt? I love yogurt!"

Aang had just been about to put the spoon into his mouth when Sokka leaned over from his chair and ate it for him.

Aang's face registered surprise and then he gritted his teeth. "Sokka." He hissed.

"I'm sorry." Sokka said. "Here. You can have it back."

It was Zuko's turn to be surprised as Sokka leaned across the table again and kissed Aang, his tongue once again out. He paused then took another spoonful of yogurt before resuming his previous activity.

Aang also looked surprised, though he didn't look like he was resisting. Zuko knew how he felt. Sokka was an amazing kisser. Sokka pulled back and licked his lips again. "I bet that was much sweeter than what you're used to."

Aang blushed and looked down. "Remind me never to reprimand you for eating my food again."

"You learn quickly young grasshopper." Sokka grinned. Zuko glanced around him to make sure no one was looking, and then looked back at Sokka.

"Did you want a kiss too?" Sokka asked, his voice sounding innocent again. "Didn't have enough last night did you?"

Zuko blushed. 'Why is he so open about his sexuality? I'm sure he's not gay…he just seems to enjoy touching people.' He thought, his interest mounting in the brown-haired boy.

Aang looked between them curiously. "What happened last night?" he said. "You guys were too horny to keep your hands off each other?"

Zuko reddened even further, playing with the eggs on his plate. "We…yeah." He admitted.

The room suddenly became very quiet and Zuko nearly stopped breathing, wondering if everyone had been listening to their conversation and was now ready to burst into fits of laugher. So it was with some degree of caution that he turned his head to see what was going on.

A group of about five boys had walked into the room, all tall and lean, gleaming hair of different colors and beautiful eyes of the same. Zuko felt all words leave his mouth and it dawned on him that the silence was almost reverend.

They had their hands in their pockets, and were walking slowly, as if it really didn't matter where they went, and the didn't join the line, but cut to the front. No one protested.

Zuko eyed them, hoping his gaze wasn't as hungry as Sokka's and wondering how they all managed to look so beautiful and prestigious. It seemed as if they were born leaders.

"Who are they?" Zuko asked in a hushed tone, after the noise had resumed. He'd quickly taken his eyes off the boys, with their cool faces and glaring beauty. It had been like staring the sun in its face for too long. Painful but amazing.

"They're the elites." Aang said, his voice sounding strained. "The best-looking guys in this school. "They're a part of a sorority that gets all the girls they want, all the grades they want and move on to become some of the most prestigious men in society.

"Wow. A sorority huh?" Zuko asked solemnly.

"Yup. By the looks of you, it seems like you could get in too." Aang continued, smiling.

"Oh, no." Zuko whispered. "Look at them. I don't look anything like that. And I can hardly even begin to fathom what one would have to do to get into that."

"I heard they make you…do it with another guy." Sokka said after snapping out of his trance. Aang's eyes widened and he paled.

"This…umm, that's bad…right?" Sokka said nervously.

Aang and Sokka glanced at him with twin stares of disbelief. "Sure it's okay to flirt and maybe kiss a guy in an all-boys school." Sokka explained. "We have pent up emotions. But to go all out and…well that's just gay."

Zuko looked down, blushing wildly. "Oh…yeah." He mumbled, squirming uncomfortably in his seat. He felt shy suddenly, wondering what else he didn't know. 'I've been locked up all alone for so many years I don't really know what I'm supposed to do in the real world.' He thought in frustration. 'I wish I'd been good enough to come here a long time ago. Then I wouldn't be such a fish out of water.'

His stomach jumped as another image flashed into his mind about Hakagi. 'If he'd stayed with me, I probably would've advanced in a much quicker time.'

He shook his childhood friend from his mind. It only hurt to think about him when Zuko knew he'd never see him again.

Sighing, he laid his head against the tree bark. It was near the gazebo facing the back of the school and the grassy tuffs around him made him feel closer to nature. Zuko felt like curling up and disappearing, and was glad he was alone. If classes had gone on any longer he was sure he would've dropped dead.

He would've never known how far behind he was, knowing virtually nothing about the history of bending, nothing about nothing. He glanced at his book, wanting to burn it, and then winced, remembering the training session he'd gone though. His little puff's of smoke looked like child's play compared to everyone else, especially Aang who could both fire and air bend thanks to his crossover parents, and could use the air to feed his flame to even greater extent. Even Sokka, surprised him, his bending wild and powerful. Already no one wanted to spar with him.

'I can't do a thing.' He thought, feeling pathetic. 'All those years, locked behind those walls like a mental case.'

It had been better with Hakagi, more lively, and he probably would've been able to fire bend a lot better now if he'd been there. He realized how often he'd thought that upon arrival, and each time he thought it, realized how true it was.

_"No Zuko. Push then pull, then pull then push. It's not supposed to be regular." Hakagi calmly instructed, getting behind his friend to show him the movements. _

_Zuko sighed. "Eleven." He said. "I'm eleven and I still can't do the inferno."_

_"Most people can't." Hakagi shrugged, more interested in the weeds chocking a few flowers sticking out of the pavement in the courtyard._

"_But you can. And I come from a strong bloodline. I'm supposed to know how to do it more than anyone else." Zuko said in irritation, watching Hakagi pluck the weeds out of the ground._

_His brows creased, and it wasn't until he felt his friends soft touch to his cheek that he smoothed it out. Hakagi's thumb gently moved up and down over his cheek, and his gaze was locked with Zuko's. _

_"Stop beating yourself up." He said quietly. "It's not like it helps you do anything any better."_

_Zuko waited till his breathing pace returned to normal and then he nodded. Hakagi smiled and took his hand away and as he turned, Zuko once again marveled at his beautiful hair. Red, blond, black, brown…_

"_Again." Hakagi said calmly, moving slowly so Zuko would follow him. "Again."_

Zuko couldn't help but smile. To this day, the inferno was one of his best moves. 'Hakagi.' He thought fondly, a mental picture of a shy, rosy cheeked boy filling his mind. The image never got blurred, for he was always thinking about Hakagi, always always remembering, their friendship, their closeness, their painful separation.

'If only you we're here, my sora light.' He thought, gazing across the grassy plain. No one was in view, neither in the gazebo nor on the pathway leading to the school. No one save for Zuko and his lone tree. He squinted. But no, he was wrong. There was a boy, far of in the distance, just sitting still on the ground where the pavement ended, farthest to the left from the school. He was in a corner, for the school cut suddenly, making a half square at the back, and he was leaning against the wall.

Zuko gazed at him as he stood, as gracefully as a flower taking bloom, then watched him stretch his arms above his head, and then walk down the trail back to the school. Zuko couldn't take his eyes off the boy, and his tremendously long hair whipping and swirling behind him in the wind. Since the path was like a triangle, it turned downwards before it went up to the school, and so the boy was walking closer and closer to Zuko.

Zuko couldn't see his face clearly, could hardly see it, but as he leant forward to stare at the unsuspecting boy, as he breathed harder and faster than he'd ever head, as his hopes rose and feel in an emotional roller coaster, that wasn't what he was looking for. He clutched the tuffs of conveniently placed grass, clenched his teeth.

The boy was fifty feet away from him, at least fifty, but the colors shone from that gloriously individualized head of hair were like the colors of a rainbow four hundred feet away. so sharp, Zuko could never forget. How could he forget? The times he'd cry and that same hair would touch his cheek as Hakagi snuggled him closer. The times he'd stroked it, so many times when Hakagi himself had cried. That one time he'd tried to separate all the strands by color and found it impossible. All the times he'd been envious about it, and Hakagi's nose would brush against him, small fingers intertwining with his as he seriously told Zuko how beautiful his own hair was. He wouldn't forget, because he couldn't forget. The best years of his life had been when that hair was around, and the person who's head it belonged to.

Red. Blond. Black. Brown.

Zuko ran.

* * *

Thank you:

OneLostSoul

RueBroadway

Thank you both for your awesome reviews!!


	6. Empty

Zuko almost collapsed as he ran, almost fell, but he didn't stop. Blinded by his own tears he clutched and grasp, then felt the warmth, the warmth that he's been missing for so long. He didn't look up, couldn't stop crying, stop clinging.

There hadn't been a time in his life that Zuko had been so bewildered, and so happy as now, when he hugged the body of the one he loved most in the world, who he'd never thought he'd see again, to himself.

Nothing came out, not for a while, not till he could compose himself to some degree, the slightest of degrees, and look up. The face wasn't the same, and yet the same, and where Zuko's arms rested around Hakagi's waist, the hair brushed his hands.

'So beautiful. He's so beautiful.' Zuko thought, blushing and burying his face in Hakagi's neck again.

The boy was looking down at him, some faint recognition on his face.

"Zu-Zuko?" the voice was deeper, deeper than he remembered, but still not as deep as his. "Hakagi." Zuko whispered, no, _whimpered_, and his voice cracked. He hugged closer, not caring if he wasn't being hugged back, not caring about anything, save for the fact that he had Hakagi in his arms.

With shuddering breaths, he looked up again, eyes starry. Practiced fingers ran through well-known locks and eyes gazed into a face well familiar to them. "Zuko…how did you get here?" Was Hakagi's question.

Zuko was slightly taken aback. There wasn't a 'so happy to see you' or 'It's been so long', 'I missed you' or even tears on his once fragile companions eyes. Just a brief sense of bewilderment.

"I…umm, I finally got in." he said, pulling back, feeling stupid clutching to the waist of someone who wasn't even touching him.

Hakagi nodded, brushing back a few strands of loose hair behind his ear. "I see." He said thoughtfully, crossing his arms. "How long has it been? Two years?"

"Four." Zuko said, Hakagi's looks distracting him. 'How did he get so beautiful?'

The hair had always been there, and now there was more of his, and his eyes were more stunning, more striking, more everything.

"Four, right." Hakagi said, nodding with sudden recognition. "Four."

Zuko's blush began fading, and he'd never felt more dumb. The stains from his tears were still trekked across his cheeks and he didn't want to brush them away, not in front of the boy which was currently eyeing him with an air of almost discontentment.

"So," Zuko suddenly felt awkward, awkward with his best friend. He felt small suddenly, and unimportant.

"Who's this little slice?" A boy with a drawling voice and short messy black hair said, walking from around the hallway corner. Following him was a group of boy's Zuko remembered seeing earlier that morning.

"Oh." Hakagi said. "New kid. Z…Z…Zuko. Yeah, Zuko's his name."

The boy walked towards Zuko, his hand on his hip cocked to the side.

He eyed him like a lion would its prey, scrutinizing from the front then the side and back. His tongue shot out suddenly and licked along his lips.

"Recruit?" he said softly.

Hakagi arched an eyebrow. "I guess." He said. "Does he…comply?"

Zuko felt confused as he was swarmed about, and to him, he felt like a painting being checked for worth.

"He's sexy."

"I guess." Hakagi shrugged. "But, that's not the only thing that makes guy's get in."

"True." Messy ebony boy said. "But he's sexy. That's a start."

Zuko got the drift of the conversation. 'I'm being checked out for their sorority. Hakagi's a part of that?'

Though Hakagi was beautiful, he didn't think that he would care about the top alliance of a school. Every time Zuko had thought of Hakagi, he would imagine him in the writers club, or some sort of animal helping society, or something to do with gardening. Something…_gentle. _

Hakagi was smirking. "You want to be in the sorority man?" he said. "It looks really good for whatever job you're going for."

"Especially…I don't know, fire lord?" the boy beside him said. "Your dad was in this group you know."

"Yuro, leave him alone." Hakagi smiled, hitting the boy in a way that made Zuko feel left out. "Well, if you want to join then meet us right here for your first assignment." He continued, turning to Zuko.

"When?"

"12:00 pm."

* * *

Sokka's foot was dangling off the bed, close to where Zuko was leaning on the floor. He was talking to Aang, about something that Zuko wasn't listening to, but apparently something that he should have been participating in, because suddenly the foot disappeared and Sokka's head appeared, leaning over the bed.

"Zuko, why aren't you talking? You look like you've just seen a ghost." He said.

'I have.' Zuko thought. 'The ghost of Hakagi.'

Zuko looked at him briefly. "I'm fine." He said softly, giving a faint smile.

"Really."

"God, you're really hot." Sokka breathed. "It's no wonder you haven't been recruited for that sorority yet."

"I'm glad he hasn't." Aang said, sitting up.

"Why?" Zuko asked, turning his attention to the baby-faced teen.

"Because they're all snobs." Aang said. "They do some really mean things to other guys. I guess that's why they have to look so good, so they won't get in trouble for being that…troublesome."

"That's not true!" Zuko said forcefully. 'Hakagi would never join anything that had to do with anything wrong.'

Zuko was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of pain and hopelessness, as if his life had been crashing around him for the longest time and he'd only just realized,

He started crying for the second time that day, which only made him cry harder, as he thought about the reason he'd cried the first time. It was stupid, and it had been so long since he'd last cried, to suddenly be starting up again, but he didn't care.

A bewildered Aang, got unto the floor and hugged him tightly, and Zuko sank against the tiny chest of the person so eager to comfort him.

"Zuko?" Aang said. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

Zuko shook his head as he sobbed, feeling Aang stroking his hair back from his forehead. He felt childish. "No. No." he said, voice cracking, breaking. 'He hasn't changed. I shouldn't be thinking things like that. Hakagi hasn't changed. He'll never change.'

And suddenly, as quickly as he'd felt overwhelming pain, his feelings took another sudden twist and turning, he kissed Aang full on the lips, eyes shutting in the process. "Thank you." He whispered shocked at how throaty his voice sounded. "I'm feeling much better know."

Aang looked surprised as he pulled back, blushing. "Woah." Sokka whistled. "You are one horny boy, Zuko. What, you weren't getting any back at home? Not healthy man, not healthy."

Zuko looked at Sokka through a hazy glare, and all he could see was a pair of luscious lips moving. He thought of Hakagi again, of how beautiful he'd been, and found him comparing his best friend to Sokka.

'Different kinds of beauty.' He decided after gazing long enough.

"You look majorly turned on about something." Sokka said, his cheeks also going red.

Zuko nodded. "I am." He murmured, pulling Sokka so he fell of his bed. "You…"

"One wasn't enough for you huh?" Sokka asked playfully.

"I think I'll need about five to be satisfied for now." Zuko whispered, a serious expression coming over his face. "For now…"

Sokka blushed, and looked at a still bewildered Aang. "Shit Zuko." He whispered, feeling a tongue trailing over his neck. "You move too fast for me."

Zuko smiled.

"Now I feel kind of left out." Aang said, playfully grinning.

He wished he's swallowed his words when he felt Zuko's hand slide up his shirt. "Z-Zu-Zuko." He rasped out. "Why are you so frisky?"

Zuko's eyes fluttered open. "I don't know." He said. 'Everything's so confusing.' He thought. 'Everything's just too confusing.'

'He's my best friend, the only friend I've ever had. And yet, he's forgotten me. He didn't want to know about what's been happening since he left. He didn't hug me, didn't cry, didn't even talk to me that much. What's going on?'

Once upon a time Hakagi had been Zuko's fortress, the thing that protected him and kept him safe. Now, he didn't know what to think.

* * *

Zuko had to admit, he felt scared, standing in the dark, in the damp grass, waiting for something, anything, to happen. There were some hushed whispers coming from in front of him, between that boy that was clinging to Hakagi and Hakagi himself, and they were both holding cardboard boxes in their hands.

Zuko could hardly see anything, and it only irritated him even more to know that he didn't know what the two were talking about. Finally they turned and looked at him.

"Do you see that window?" The boy that was apparently named Yuro said, turning to Zuko.

Zuko looked up and nodded. Of course he saw the freaking window. The things these guys said made him feel stupid. It was cold and he was in the grass standing outside the upper schools dorm rooms. "Why are we here?" he found himself asking. Hakagi hadn't said a word to him since he'd come, and currently his back was turned.

"We're going to put the contents of these boxes through that window. The head prefect sleeps there and he's a real pain in the ass. Gave me a demerit for burning a kid. So, as your first job, you should be the one to get my revenge." Yuro said.

Zuko bit his lip, wanting to comment about what was morally wrong and right, but he couldn't, because now Hakagi was looking at him and he was willing to do anything to break through that wall and get the other boy to even smile at him.

'It's been four years and he's said about 2 sentences to me.' Zuko thought, grabbing the boxes before he lost his nerve. They slowly went across the grassy ground to the slightly ajar window, and Hakagi and Yuro stopped and few paces behind Zuko.

Zuko looked down at the boxes. 'I wonder what's in here?' he thought. 'Whatever it is, it cant be too bad. Hakagi would never participate in anything too bad.'

He pushed the box through the window after listening for deep breathing, and then opened the cover.

"RUN!" Yuro hissed, and Zuko let go and scurried back with the two other boy's, racing back to the middle school dorm. He could hear a scream coming from the building they'd just been in.

When they stopped to catch their breath, Zuko felt bewildered. "What was in there?" He said.

"Just cockroaches." Yuro shrugged. Hakagi looked mildly bored, starting at his nails.

"Oh." Zuko said.

"And red ants." Yuro finished.

"Oh…" Zuko said, this time with more concern.

"We first filled his liquid soap with distilled sugar." Hakagi shrugged. "So when he showered and went to sleep, the ants would practically bite him to death."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Wh-Why?" he said, wondering if his voice was cracking. He stared at Hakagi, who looked back at him. "Why would you do that Hakagi? That must've hurt him."

"So smart." Hakagi said sarcastically. Zuko's heart hurt.

"Quit quibbling." Yuro said. "Just be happy. For now, you're in."

Zuko was still staring at Hakagi. Hakagi who had cried and begged Zuko to take it back when he'd called his own father mean, Hakagi who insisted that shut up was a bad word and that the killing and eating of animals was wrong, had just purposely hurt someone.

'It's almost like I don't know him anymore…'

* * *

"Good morning sleepy." Zuko heard above his head as a soft hand caressed his forehead. "No classes today!"

Zuko didn't open his eyes or sit up, afraid the wonderful hand that was stroking him would go away, afraid that all that had happened the night before was real.

"You went out pretty late yesterday." The owner of the hand said. Zuko blushed a little.

"I…" he couldn't find a suitable excuse.

"It's okay." Sokka said, pulling his hand back. "I assumed a guy like you would be out at all hours of the night. "No, I'm not like that!" Zuko said, his blush reddening even further. "I just had…"

Sokka held up his hands in defence. "Not my business." He laughed light-heartedly.

Zuko finally got himself sitting up, and rubbed his forehead unhappily. 'Hakagi…' he thought. His best friend had evolved into a stranger and that was why he was sunk into a bout of depression.

'Maybe he was just having an off day.' Zuko thought, as Sokka pulled him up, trying to get him going. 'Maybe he's still the sweetheart I remember…'

* * *

Next chapter will pick up from this one. Oh the suspense! Sorry for the late update, back to school workload, trying to balance schedule.

Thank you:

BlueTiger (hard to imagine Ozai sending Zuko to the same school. Maybe he didn't know...maybe...you'll see)

OnexLostxSoul (so sorry for the late review, especially with all the love you give me with your long reviews that go into depth. The story is going to to be a lot more interesting from now on, plus way more yaoi. Yay! I love you and your reviews and thank you both so much for letting me know people actually read this.)


	7. Confusion

* * *

"Fine." Zuko mumbled, gripping Sokka's arm to help him hoist himself out of bed. "I'm up." Sokka smiled happily.

"What should we do today?" he asked, walking over to his bed. "I mean, we only get weekends twice a week."

"I dunno." Zuko said, stripping to his boxers. "I was thinking that we could maybe explore the school or something. It's so big I'd like to see what it really looks like."

Sokka wasn't listening, Zuko realized as he turned to face the suddenly quiet boy. He was gaping at Zuko's chest. Zuko slid on a shirt in embarrassment, mixed with some pride that he could get another boy to look at him like that.

"Yeah…yeah." Sokka said, released from his captivation as the object of his affection went away. "Exploring sounds good."

Zuko went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and when he came back out Sokka was standing at the door, talking to Aang, who looked especially adorable without his fire nation attire.

"Ok, where should we go first?" Aang asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. In excitement, Zuko rushed up to the small boy to hug him tight against his chest. "The west wing." Sokka said mysteriously. "It's the furthest away from here and I really want to see what the upper upper school looks like."

"West wing it is." Aang said, his voice slightly muffled by Zuko's chest.

They began walking down the corridor, to the first floor, through the huge French windows and out unto the lawn.

"We can cut across here and get there much faster than if we'd walked through the whole school." Sokka said, proud of his discovery.

Zuko, who was holding fast unto Aang's hand, looked around. "Are you sure we won't get lost or something? Those trees we'd have to cut through look pretty thick."

Sokka shrugged. "Sure I'm sure." He said. "Once we cut through this little forest, we'll be right on the other side of the school."

"Are you sure Aang can make it?" Zuko continued.

"Zuko, I think your overprotection of me is really cute, but seriously, I'm not a baby." Aang said, used to getting this, if not to this extent, sort of attention from bigger boys.

"Sorry." Zuko said, still not letting go of Aang's hand as they began to cut through the thick trees at the back of the East wing of the school.

Sunlight streamed through the leaves and branches high over head and Sokka kept pressing forward as if he knew exactly where he was going, burning a couple branches that got in his way.

"Why do you think there is a forest right in the middle of the school?" Aang asked curiously.

"This was once two different castles that were separated by this forest, long before that part of the school connecting the East and West wing's existed." Zuko said, well versed in anything that had to do with king's of the past.

"Interesting. Sometime's I forget that you're a prince and you're a part of all this stuff from the past." Sokka said. "It's gonna be cool to tell my kids that I knew Prince Zuko."

"It's going to be cool telling _my _kids that I knew Sokka." Zuko said kindly.

Sokka wasn't facing him, but he could tell that the dark-haired boy was blushing by his embarrassed silence.

After a few more minutes of walking in comfortable silence, all three boys yelled when they heard the sounds of rifle shots. Some birds over head screeched as they fell.

"Oh God." Sokka said. "Some people are just so sick, killing bird for fun like that."

"And what's worse, rifling is actually an activity at this school." Aang interjected.

Zuko didn't say anything, his stomach sinking as his presumption turned out to be true when they got past the last tree and out unto the grassy field again.

Hakagi and Yuro were holding shiny new rifles in the middle of the field, aiming for another set of helpless animals. BANG! Zuko shut his eyes, not wanting to see whether they had missed or not. He wanted to turn back, go to his room, go back to his bed and never wake up again.

_"Zuko don't!" Hakagi screamed as Zuko was about to step on an ant that had bitten him. "You know it only did that out of self-defense. _

"_Meh." Zuko said dispassionately. "But it bit me. And it hurt."_

"_Please don't." Hakagi begged, clutching to Zuko's arm. "His family needs him."_

_"It's an ant!" Zuko said, stepping down on the tiny creature. Hakagi burst into tears, looking at Zuko as if he were a monster. "How could you?" He kept screaming, over and over, his voice ringing in Zuko's ear. "You killed it! You killed it!!"_

_"I didn't." Zuko said. "Look, I missed."_

_Hakagi sniffled as he looked down, watching the ant still made its way along the beaten path of garden soil. _

_Hakagi covered his mouth in happiness, eyes still glistening in ten year old eyes. "I'm so happy." _

_"You idiot." Zuko said, heat rushing to his face, loving how sweet Hakagi looked, how loving._

"_I love you." Hakagi said, grabbing Zuko in a gentle. "I knew you wouldn't, you would never."_

_"Shut up." Zuko said as the heat became stronger, as Hakagi held him closer and began crying yet again.. 'I love you too you little sap. Don't every change.'_

Zuko bit his lip, seeing the person he'd once knew, laughing as the bullet shot out of the death machine he was holding. He felt hot tears forming in his own eyes. "I don't want to go anymore." He said. "You guys can keep going. I want to go back."

"We can't let you go through the forest again. If you really don't want to go past those guys we can walk around the long way." Aang said understandingly, noticing the way Zuko's eyes glistened.

"But we're so close!!" Sokka said in annoyance.

"We'll take the long way." Aang insisted.

Zuko's mind was numb with pain the whole way back.

"It's much bigger than our side of the school." Sokka marveled, looking at the high ceilinged marble that decorated the upper upper school. "Yeah, this is where all the people in fraternities or sororities of high standing live, regardless of age." Aang said, noting how much more…._rich_ everything looked.

Zuko hadn't said anything since he'd seen the boy that he had loved more than anything, shooting, _killing _birds. 'He's just like all those people I hate so much.' Zuko realized with bitterness. Hakagi had been the one to teach him that all life was precious, that he shouldn't hurt anything regardless of size or importance. 'What did this school do to him?'

* * *

Not that many people are reading this, but yes, I know this chapter is half the length of my usual. Yes, I'm really sorry, but I just had to. This is a continuation of the last chapter, it's closure, you can almost think of it as one chapter (which would mean it was longer than usual, AH HA!). Also, I couldnt think of a better place to end, so I'm really sorry. To compensate, the next will be longer than usual for sure!

Thank you:

RueBroadway

Bluetiger

avatarfan1111

By the way, though this is not one of my most popular stories, I realized how long all your reviews were as I was idly going through them, and I'd really like to thank you for taking the time to leave me reviews that motivate me!


	8. Hey

Pretty sure no one's reading this, but if you are, reviews would be nice.

* * *

"Hey, you." Zuko heard behind him as he walked absent-mindedly along the cafeteria line. He hadn't been able to enjoy his day at all, and now it was lunch. HIs mood hadn't gone up in the slightest. He stopped stiffly and turned, to see one of the boys in the beautiful man-bevel group walking, no, sauntering towards him.

"We're going to do some group practice by the pool, are you up for it?"

"The pool?" Zuko asked. "For Fire Bending?" The boy emitted a condescending chuckle from his perfectly formed pink lips. "Just come cutie, soon as you're done eating. No swim gear required." he winked and turned, sauntering in the direction from whence he had come.

Zuko hardly had the stomach to eat anyways, he so badly just wanted to see Hakagi and be reassured that he was still in there, buried or not. Swallowing a few bites of food, he stumbled after the boy towards the pool.

When he arrived, Hakagi sat amongst the other boys, his loose pants rolled, up, toes dangling in the water. Zuko smiled, noting how adorable and peaceful he looked. 'Yes.' he thought. 'He's definitely there.' Hakagi looked up at him, and he could almost see a hint of a smile, but it passed quickly, if it had been there at all.

"Here he is." Yuro beckoned Zuko over. "Today, we'll be doing some resistance training. As everyone knows, the lungs are the most vital organs to a firebender, and they must be exercised to grow larger and stronger."

Zuko stood nervously to the side upon getting to them. His lungs had never been strong, he pressed his hand to a flat stomach, feeling it quake. He didn't much feel like being embarrassed right now.

"Let's start with the best for demonstration." Yuro stood in front of the pool, spread his fingertips, and sent fire shooting over the top of the water to settle in a thin film. It was an easy enough task, but Zuko's heart caught as he realized exactly what the task was. There was a small opening of water at the beginning and end of the pool.

"I'm sure you've figured it out by now Zuko." Yuro said, turning to him. "Jump in here, swim to the other end, clothed, get out through the other opening. Simple, right? The best time wins. Ready Hakagi?"

The slender boy nodded, sitting at the edge of the pool, tying up his glorious hair. Zuko stared at the nape of his neck, watched the soft hairs run down the dip. He swallowed agitatedly, wanting nothing more than to run his tongue along that nape. He shivered.

Hakagi effortlessly slipped into the water and dove under. He could be barely seen under the raging fire, making Zuko's heart clutch in fear. He stared at the fire, but no one else seemed at all worried. He hoped they had no reason to be. In seconds, Hakagi submerged in the small opening of water on the other end of the pool, and slipped out as easily as he had gotten in. Zuko stared in surprise; his chest was pressing hard against him, making it hard to breathe.

There was no way he could do that. He looked to Hakagi, who met his eyes briefly. Hakagi knew how weak his lungs were, no matter how much training he'd endured, that hadn't changed.

"It's your turn, Zuko." Yuro called from behind him. Zuko stared at him.

"...I..." he mumbled. "I'm not sure I c-can..."

"Can beat Hakagi's record? You can, eventually, probably. Don't worry, we don't expect you to, yet." Yuro smiled.

Zuko looked at him faintly. "Or ever." Hakagi threw in snobbishly. The group around him laughed and Zuko stared at him. "I'm ready." he said, sitting at the edge of the pool. Immediatly, his clothes felt heavy, he already felt as if he was being sucked into the water. The flames licked dangerously close to his arms.

He slid into the water after steeling his nerves, diving far down to avoid the flames. Already his lungs were beginning to empty. He kicked furiously, shocked to find how heavy his clothes had become. The other end of the pool seemed so far away, he started to panic. Faster he swam, feeling his body begin to weaken. He was running out of breath, needed air. It made him remember all the times he'd swam with Hakagi in the lake by the garden, all the races he'd lost. But he had always had fun. Hakagi made it fun.

The burning in his lungs was beginning to override the burning he'd suffer if he rose to the top. He felt faint, and his body began to drift towards the surface naturally. The burning hurt more and more each second, till it consumed his whole body. It hurt so fucking much.

Before he passed out he could hear someone screaming his name.

* * *

When Zuko finally came to, he was laying in the hospital ward. Next to him on the left, he could see Water Tribe healers working on other patients. From what he could see and feel, he had already been healed. Groggily, he turned to his right, where Aang and Sokka sat.

"Hey..." he smiled groggily, reaching out to take Aang's hand. The smaller boy was scowling at him, though there was obvious relief in his eyes. "Y-you idiot." he snapped, squeezing Zuko's hand. "Why the hell would you do that? I told you...I told you that this whole fraternity thing is trying to kill you. With a bloody...lake of fire?" He stared at Zuko, tears filling his eyes, probably not for the first time.

"You were so badly burnt...I can't believe they managed to heal you so well man." Sokka put in quietly, "But, I mean, we're glad you're ok."

"How is he? Has he..." Hakagi trailed off as he entered the room upon seeing Zuko awake. He stared at him awhile before closing his mouth. "I'm glad...you're awake." he said. "It's...unfortunate what happened a-and, I just thought it would be appropriate if one of us remained here with you until you were ok. You shouldn't have been pushed so far.."

Zuko sat up and looked at him, smiling faintly. "So you're the one that decided to stay?" he said. Hakagi blinked. "W-well...I...I offered because it was my fault making you feel as if you had to try to beat my score."

"You know that's not true.." Zuko said, staring at him. Hakagi shifted. "W-well.." he mumbled. Aang and Sokka stared at the two of them silently. "Well...it's..."Hakagi fumbled for words before turning and leaving the room quickly.

Aang and Sokka looked expectantly at Zuko. "He's...he stayed here the whole time with you." Aang offered quietly. Sokka smiled. "He cried more than Aang actually." he added. "He's the one that saved you and brought you to the ward."

Zuko felt a knot begin to untie in his stomach. Haruki was there...he just had to find him.


	9. End

Not feeling this story any more. Just gunna, end it. :)

* * *

Despite the pain in his chest, Zuko forced himself to stand and follow Hakagi out into the hall. "Hey!" he called. "Don't do this. Don't…act like there's nothing between us. You actually came, and you actually cared."

Hakagi didn't stop, and kept his pace fluid and his face serious as he continued to walk away from the boy that was following him closely behind. Zuko began running, which hurt so badly, but nothing in the world hurt as much as being ignored by the boy he…loved.

"Please…"he whispered, grabbing Hakagi's arm, breathing sharply from the pain in his chest and back. Hakagi stopped and looked at him, dragging his arm away forcefully. "Yes." He whispered, as if there were spies in the room. "Yes, Zuko, I…was here, I was worried."

"Why would you act like you didn't like me? Why would you act like you hated me?" Zuko said, looking him in the face. He didn't care how pathetic he seemed, he felt pathetic, he felt he was losing his mind without Hakagi. The other boy remained silent, only staring at him. His bright eyes were filling with tears; intensifying their color and sheer…amazingness.

"Why?" Zuko repeated. Hakagi blinked and the tears began streaming.

"Why?"

Hakagi looked away, his hand drifting to his side—immediately Zuko took it in his own.

"Why?"

"I love you." Hakagi trembled. "I don't want you to get in trouble, and I don't want to get in trouble."

"Why would you get in trouble? And why would I?" Zuko asked, pulling Hakagi closer to him. The boy trembled, pressed his head to Zuko's shoulder, his hair tickling his chin.

"If you…I…I make you so weak. I am so weak and it doesn't…it doesn't ever help." He whispered. "If it were to be because of me that you got kicked out, my distractions, it would ruin everything. And we would be separated, again. It was my fault last time and I don't want to do it again."

Zuko stopped him, held him close and kissed him. Kissed him till he wasn't crying any more. "You don't need to worry about that." He said. "I'm strong; I promise I can be strong enough for both of us. Wait, no. I don't need to be...you're strong enough on your own."

Hakagi stared at him, then smiled, his lips tingling. "Thanks…"

* * *

Sorry, for anyone that's reading this. Just have to devote my time to things that people actually do read!


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